Asylum

"I know that person."

In the middle of the night, the tavern closed early because of the brawl, and Darien sent the clerk to rest, and settled the accounts with heartache by lighting candles.His ten-year-old brother Lanno read with him by the lamplight.When Darien talked about the damned brawl, Lano suddenly said, "That Reverend Cherry, I know him. Reverend Anton told us."

Darien put down his pen: "What did he say?" When Pastor Anton was alive, he often gathered the children in the town together, taught them to read and write, and imparted the teachings of God.Lan Nuo was the most outstanding among all the children. Pastor Anton often said that when the child was older, he would recommend him to study in a church school in the city. Lan Nuo was so smart that he might become a priest in the future.It's a pity that the old man passed away last month, so the matter of recommending Lan Nuo to go to a missionary school naturally disappeared.

"He mentioned that Priest Cherey: young, with albinism, but very skilled. He once participated in the holy war against the devil, and made great achievements. On the battlefield, everyone called him the nickname—"The Butcher of God" '. It is said that the Supreme Sanctuary intends to cultivate him to become the next chief priest." The child turned a page of the book, "Pastor Anton admires him very much."

Darien recalled the guest in rags, how could he look like a priest?If he hadn't shown the Iron Sacred Emblem, Darien might have regarded him as a jobless vagrant. "You must be wrong, or Pastor Anton is wrong. How could the candidate for the head pastor come to our remote town as an 'asylum'?"

Lan Nuo curled his lips and rolled his eyes at his brother: "Believe it or not."

"Hmph, believe it or not, he got into trouble with Scarface's gang as soon as he arrived in Suifeng Town, and he will have a bad life in the future. Maybe one night, Scarface will secretly wipe his neck."

"No, he is the 'God's Butcher Knife', with God's blessing, how could he lose to a few punks."

"Pastor Anton also has God's blessing, isn't he still torn to pieces by monsters?"

Lan Nuo gave him another look. "Speaking of this, when I came back, I heard from people living near the shelter that Pastor Cherey will hold a funeral for Pastor Anton tomorrow, and any townspeople can attend the ceremony."

"What? Do you want to go?"

"Of course, Pastor Anton is my teacher."

"I think you don't want to commemorate the old man, but want to see Pastor Cherey."

"...All of them." The boy stuck out his tongue, picked up the book, and ran back to the bedroom in a hurry.

Although Darien had no interest in the funeral, he still attended the next day out of courtesy.He puts on his best clothes (which he wore only once, last year at Dad's funeral), and takes his brother and five rowdy shop clerks to the communal cemetery on the north side of the sanctuary.Today is a cloudy day, it looks like it's going to rain, and people who are sensible don't really want to go out.But to Darien's surprise, a large group of townspeople gathered here, some came to see off the old pastor, and more people were full of curiosity, wanting to see the true face of the new asylum .

The funeral process is very simple. First, the relatives of the deceased will carry the coffin into the pit dug in advance.After Pastor Anton died, people buried him long ago. Since he was the only pastor in the town, no one gave him a speech, and because the season was not right, no one threw flowers.The funeral ended quietly, and people's lives returned to peace after that. No one thought that a "proper funeral" should be held.Now that this matter is brought up suddenly, everyone thinks about it, and they really feel a little regretful.

Suddenly someone shouted: "The pastor is here!" The noisy crowd fell silent instantly, and automatically divided into two groups to make way for one.A man in a snow-white robe walked slowly from the direction of the shelter.As if summoned by some magical power, the sunlight split through the clouds at the right time, turned into a ray, and landed on the man.Although the man looked horrific with his frosty white hair and lack of pigment skin, everyone felt that he had a divine feeling when he was illuminated by the sun.The townspeople, who usually don't even go to the shelter, bow their heads devoutly at this moment, as if they have always been the most sincere believers.

Darien rubbed his eyes vigorously to make sure that he was not dazzled before he could believe that the man was really the guest who made trouble in the tavern yesterday.He just changed into a spotless robe, and his temperament was quite different from yesterday.Even if someone told him that this was the visit of the head pastor, he would definitely believe it.

Pastor Cherey, in white clothes and white hair, solemnly walked to the tombstone with a holy book in his arms.He first gave the sacrament to the dead, then turned, facing the townspeople, and opened the holy book.

"My dear brothers and sisters, we gather today to mourn the loss of..."

A sharp voice from the crowd interrupted his speech: "Who are you?"

Pastor Qie Lei's expression was calm: "My name is Qie Lei, and I have been appointed by the Supreme Sanctuary to be the protector of Broken Maple Town."

"Look at his hair and skin! He's a freak!" said another from the crowd.It was rude to say that, especially to a respectable priest, but it elicited a buzz of approval nonetheless.

Darien thought the pastor would be angry, but Cherry just smiled: "God taught us to be patient and tolerant, so I don't hold my breath. But I have always been patient only three times. Yesterday, a few people insulted me three times. They What will happen to you, you can ask the venerable tavernkeeper, Mr. Darren."

He then proceeded to read aloud the contents of the Holy Book, continuing his funeral speech.Darien, who was in the crowd, suddenly found himself the center of attention.Everyone's interest immediately shifted from the new patron to him.His ears were filled with questions from neighbors: "What happened yesterday?" "What did he do to those people?" "Are they dead?"

Darien likes the feeling of being surrounded by stars.He cleared his throat, and described everything that happened yesterday in a low and clear voice, of course, adding oil and vinegar was inevitable.His ideal is to become a bard, best at telling stories.His story is clearly more engaging than the preacher's sermon.

After he finished telling the story, Pastor Cherey also finished his speech.He closed the holy book and said politely to the townspeople: "I hope to inherit Pastor Anton's behest, bring tranquility and peace to Broken Maple Town, and protect the town and the good men and women in the town. Please invite everyone in the prayer meeting next week. Don't be absent."

After speaking, he glared at Darien, as if complaining that he stole his limelight.Darien scratched his nose in embarrassment, and clapped his hands vigorously: "It's wonderful! What a mournful and beautiful speech!" The townspeople didn't pay attention to what the pastor said, so they could only applaud without understanding.Warm applause resounded through the cemetery, and the crows on the tombstone were startled.There are no flowers in this season, so people make fake flowers out of rags and waste paper and throw them on the cemetery.If the old priest who passed away had knowledge in heaven, would he be pleased or angry?

Time moves forward a little bit.When Pastor Cherry was mourning his deceased predecessor, Scarface and his followers hid behind a tree on a hill not far from the sanctuary, looking viciously at the crowd gathered in the cemetery.

"That freak in the white robe! I must make him look good!"

"Boss, boss, I have a solution." The servant's face was bruised and purple, it was the beating he received yesterday, "Do you remember how the old pastor died? There are monsters wandering around the town, we can take that The white-robed freak lured him over, making him end up like the old man." The servant giggled.

Scarface stared at the follower without saying a word.The attendant stopped laughing and stared at the ground: "Is this a bad idea?"

Scarface suddenly stretched out his hand and patted the servant's shoulder. The latter shrank into a ball in fright, but Scarface's sinister and hearty laughter soon came from above his head: "Good idea! Haha what a good idea! Broken Maple Town is a foreigner. There's no need for a shitty priest! Just let him go to heaven to meet his god!"